Lake St Clair fishing report, Feb 2/16

[miangler]

Lake St. Clair: Has more ice on the lake but there is still a lot of open water offshore so anglers need to be aware of wind conditions and the possibility of ice shifting and pressure cracks opening up. Anglers are out fishing the usual places off Fairhaven, Brandenburg, Cotton Road, South River Road, the Metro Park and the Spillway Access Site. Ice thickness is variable at these locations so anglers need to use extreme caution.

Port Austin and Grindstone City: Each had a few ice shanties in the harbor that were close to shore.

Saginaw Bay: Ice conditions did improve around the Bay but it is still "iffy" out there in spots. There are fish to catch without crossing the pressure cracks which is much safer. Palmer Road near Standish was very busy with a lot of anglers on the ice. They caught 8 to 10 inch perch in 2 to 3 feet of water. Walleye were caught in the evening in 8 to 10 feet. White's Beach had a few anglers targeting perch but the fish were small. Perch were caught at Pinconning and down off Newman Road. Walleye were found ¾ of a mile off Erickson Road but anglers need to be aware of all the pressure cracks out there and use caution. There are active pressure cracks off Linwood as well. The occasional walleye was caught in 8 feet off the Bay City State Recreation Area and from the shipping channel near Spoils Island. A few perch were caught near the range light off the river mouth. Perch fishing was spotty from Sebewaing to Bay Port. Some managed limit catches while others had none. Keep moving until you find an active school of fish. Walleye anglers were in the Slot and around North Island. Caseville was slow.

Update as of 1/29/16: Strong south winds blew most of the ice out of Saginaw Bay and into the main basin of Lake Huron. The only remaining ice was 100 to 200 yards along the west side and only about 100 yards on the east side. Anglers need to use Extreme Caution!

Saginaw River: Still had patches of open water here and there and anglers are cautioned to stay well away from those areas. Anglers need to beware of thin and treacherous ice along the river especially with temperatures well above freezing by the weekend. Anglers were marking lots of fish however they did not want to bite. That was the rule from Saginaw to the mouth. Walleye were caught but not in large numbers. Most were jigging rapalas tipped with minnow heads. Hot colors were blue and silver, black and gold, purple or perch colors. Fishing activity started near Wickes Park and Ojibway Island. A number of anglers were at the First Street turn basin at the north end of Saginaw and strung out north and south of the Zilwaukee Bridge. Be very careful of the ice near any of the bridges. The ice was not good near the Boys & Girls Club in the south end of Bay City. Anglers were fishing downstream of the Independence Bridge near the U.S.S. Edson but catch rates were spotty and the ice was deteriorating.

[ethan]

any reports on how mitchells bay is holding up?? thanks

[fishmagnet]

Now thats a great report , I'm sure everyone appreciates it..

[BassHunter18]

Great Report

[miangler]

Sorry no update on Mitchells at this time. I will let you know in a couple of days.

[RayJayJohnson]

Michells bay ice has been blown out .